In a fight straight out of the 1990s, Governor DeSantis and Florida Republicans are seeking to reform when, where, and how individuals can sue insurance companies in the state — a practice that has made Florida trial lawyers wealthy and led to some of the highest liability insurance rates in the nation. 

In a statement announcing the plan, the governor said he wanted to curb “billboard” attorneys and their role in the state’s skyrocketing insurance rates.

“For decades, Florida has been considered a judicial hellhole due to excessive litigation and a legal system that benefitted the lawyers more than people who are injured,” Mr. DeSantis said. “We are now working on legal reform that is more in line with the rest of the country and that will bring more businesses and jobs to Florida.”

The bill seeks to rein in trial attorney fees, provide more transparency to juries when awarding lawsuit payouts, and reform Florida’s “bad faith” law so that negligence alone would no longer be a basis for a lawsuit. 

The president of the trial lawyer group Florida Justice Association, Curry Pajcic, said that the tort reform bill being considered would curtail Florida citizens’ right to trial by jury. 

“Florida is under attack,” he wrote, saying the bill is “a direct assault on the rights of every Floridian by insurance companies and corporate elites who think they can dictate which rights should be preserved and which can be tossed aside.

“If the corporate elites are empowered to grab away our right to trial by jury, which right will they feel entitled to take next? Will they grab our guns? Our right to free speech? Empowering the rich and powerful is not what this country was founded on and not something any of us should stand for,” Mr. Pajcic said.  

Florida’s insurance rates have doubled in the last five years and are currently three times the national average. A professor of finance at Florida International University, Shahid Hamid, says the exorbitant rates and high costs are a result of “fraud and lawsuits.” 

Companies are “still losing money in Florida because of this. And that’s part of the reason so many companies are deciding to leave,” Mr. Hamid said. 

Insurance companies that operate in Florida have gone from seeing more than $800 million in revenue in 2015 to losing nearly $800 million 2021 due to lawsuits related to personal injury and damage to residences. Total losses for these insurance companies were more than $1 billion in both 2020 and 2021. Their solution has been to increase rates rapidly, putting further strain on homeowners.

The vast majority of total American property insurance lawsuits — about 80 percent — are filed in the state of Florida, according to the Insurance Information Institute. 

Tort reform will be a critical part of the coming legislative session in Florida, which begins on Tuesday. With sizable Republican majorities in both the state senate and house, Mr. DeSantis has a chance to notch a number of conservative victories before his likely presidential campaign. 

Mr. DeSantis has said that reforming libel laws is another top priority. He has called for the overturning of New York Times v. Sullivan — a Supreme Court decision that shielded the news media from most lawsuits. 

A Republican state senator is also pushing for a requirement that bloggers register with the state if they cover Mr. DeSantis or other statewide elected officials. 

Another key goal of Mr. DeSantis is to curtail what he calls the excesses of “woke culture.” His goal is to cut funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at state-funded colleges and universities.

Mr. DeSantis also plans to sign a “constitutional carry” law — meaning a resident could carry a firearm without a permit — once it passes through the legislature.